Over the years, we’ve written a lot about HEMA, their products, their successes and their cock-ups.
Back in 2009 HEMA celebrated the end of Ramadan, which happens to be today for the Moroccan community and was yesterday for the Turkish commumnity here, my female Turkish baker told me yesterday at lunch with a devious smile.
HEMA opened a store in Paris (see video) last year, which made my Parisian friends happy.
In fact, HEMA is an essential Dutch brand, as seen by these tea towels here above. My co-blogger bought them for me knowing that the colours make you go ‘aaah’ of cuteness.
Even their sausages went national and made it on a stamp. And HEMA thought it cute recently to help children cheat on exams.
So the news of HEMA possibly being bought up by foreigners is more of an emotional shock, considering the Dutch have sold off many companies and even banks as of late.
What I like about HEMA besides it being inexpensive: the bright turquoise, bright green and hot pink colours that pull me into the store, from stationery to bed sheets. I like Chat-en-Oeuf wine because of the label (the wine is OK), the socks (they last) and some of their pots and pans.
HEMA purchases make you feel good somehow and so selling it off will be odd. Maybe they won’t pull any stunts anymore, that would be sad.
(Link: dutchnews.nl)
The Amsterdam Historical Museum and Mediamatic have teamed up to do something different. Rather than have you look at historical objects from a safe distance, they will let you buy them for 1 or 2 euro each.
Inventor René Bijsterveld came up with the Vrachtpatser (from the Dutch words krachtpatser, strong man, and vracht, freight) because as a student he has to lug a lot of heavy stuff around on in his bike, and not in the least crates of beer 